London Underground cleaners protest pay cut

Joseph (second from right) at the protest photo Pete Mason (Click to enlarge)

Joseph Mambuliya, London Underground cleaner and RMT member

London Underground (LU) cleaners protested outside the London mayor's office on 13 October. Our pay and conditions are being attacked by the private contractors employed by London Underground. The RMT is demanding that Sadiq Khan brings cleaning back in house.

Station cleaners are losing Ł3,400 a year because their working week has been cut from six days to five days. Yet they have been told to clean up to four stations a day. Before they were cleaning one or two.

In-house LU staff get sick pay and free travel. Cleaners are employed by contractors and get no sick pay and have to pay, not only when they travel to work and back, but also between stations to carry out their duties. This can cost Ł100 a month. The contractors often short pay the staff, and harass and bully them. The RMT is fighting to unionise the cleaners and demands a Ł10 an hour minimum wage.

At the protest I made the point that every night the cleaners in the depots work really hard to get the trains immaculately clean for the city stockbrokers, so they can travel in them without soiling their five thousand pound suits.

The cleaners are also having to help customers, because the ticket offices have been closed and station staff are busy helping customers on the tickets machines. We hope the mayor will listen to the plight of the cleaners, end the contracting out of cleaning staff and bring them back in house.

Donate to the Socialist Party

Finance appeal

The coronavirus crisis has laid bare the class character of society in numerous ways. It is making clear to many that it is the working class that keeps society running, not the CEOs of major corporations.

The results of austerity have been graphically demonstrated as public services strain to cope with the crisis.

The government has now ripped up its 'austerity' mantra and turned to policies that not long ago were denounced as socialist. But after the corona crisis, it will try to make the working class pay for it, by trying to claw back what has been given.

The Socialist Party's material is more vital than ever, so we can continue to report from workers who are fighting for better health and safety measures, against layoffs, for adequate staffing levels, etc.
When the health crisis subsides, we must be ready for the stormy events ahead and the need to arm workers' movements with a socialist programme - one which puts the health and needs of humanity before the profits of a few.

Inevitably, during the crisis we have not been able to sell the Socialist and raise funds in the ways we normally would.

We therefore urgently appeal to all our viewers to click here to donate to our Fighting Fund.